1 Drug Suspect Dies, 2 Hurt in Shoot-Out

A suspected cocaine dealer was killed and two others were critically wounded in a shoot-out with police at a MacArthur Park-area motel in Los Angeles, police said.

After several hours of observing cocaine dealing from a room at the Budget Inn, 1710 W. 7th St., five officers walked up to the door with a search warrant and demanded entry early Thursday, Lt. William Hall said.

When the men in the room would not let them in, the officers smashed the door and were met with gunfire, Hall said. All five officers fired several rounds into the room, wounding two suspects, Alexandro Morrelo, 20, and Abel Lara, 36, who were taken to County-USC Medical Center in critical condition. No officers were injured.

Inside the room, officers found a third suspected drug dealer dead from gunshot wounds. One revolver and a pound of cocaine worth $10,000 were confiscated from the room, Hall said.